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Chamber of Commerce
Lancaster County Chamber is starting a new program open to all members. Coffee break with the chamber,” sponsored by the Small Business Council, will kick off Feb. 9.
The coffee break has been developed as an informal morning discussion session on topics of interest to all members, with the first meeting to feature guest speakers Lancaster County Sheriff Barry Faile and City of Lancaster Police Chief Harlean Howard.

Christopher Sardellicsardelli@thelancasternews.com
Police have arrested and charged a Lancaster man in connection with a violent assault that happened along Main Street last month.
Gaeric Quindrell Johnson, 22, 414 South Ave., was arrested Wednesday at 6:31 p.m. in the 900 block of Loft Lane, according to a Lancaster Police Department booking report. He is charged with criminal sexual conduct and a warrant was served on him while he was in custody at the police department, the report said.

Christopher Sardellicsardelli@thelancasternews.com
After weeks of investigation, police have arrested a man for allegedly dangling a small child over a pitbull.
Lancaster Police Chief Harlean Howard said Michael Chavis Jr., 22, 110 S. Hughes St., was arrested 11:24 a.m. Wednesday and charged with third-degree assault and battery.
Police issued a press release Wednesday morning asking the community for help finding Chavis, though he was found a few hours later.

Christopher Sardellicsardelli@thelancasternews.com
In the wake of a violent assault along Main Street last week, Lancaster Police Chief Harlean Howard is urging county residents to be more careful in their daily routines and to trust their gut in uncomfortable situations.

By Nita Brown
For The Lancaster News
Hauntingly beautiful musical, great story, appealing to the whole family, professional-quality production. That’s how director Eric Grace describes the musical, “The Secret Garden,” now playing at Bundy Auditorium on the campus of the University of South Carolina Lancaster.
The Community Playhouse of Lancaster County production first came to Lancaster under Grace’s direction in 2006, and returned this year when details couldn’t be finalized on “Beauty and the Beast.”

Reece Murphyrmurphy@thelancasternews.com
The Public Service Commission of South Carolina (PSCSC) approved an average 5.98 percent rate increase for Duke Energy.
The increase is well below the originally proposed 15 percent average rate increase decried by most private Lancaster residents who spoke during a PSCSC hearing on the matter in November.
The new rates, approved by PSCSC commissioners during a meeting last week, increases residential rates by 7.1 percent, or roughly $6.25 on an average 1,000 kilowatt-hours-a-month home bill.

INDIAN LAND – An Indian Land man could face up to 25 years in prison for drunk driving in connection with a fatal pickup truck accident on Harrisburg Road last month.
William Justin Rigsbee, 28, of 3098 Sterling Court, is charged with felony DUI resulting in death and an uninsured vehicle fee violation, first offense. The charges stem from a Jan. 8 wreck that killed passenger Steven Lee Jones, 36, of Charlotte.

Police are on the hunt for a man they say is connected to the shooting of a Lancaster man Monday night.
Shibre Ikee Truesdale, 20, is wanted by the Lancaster Police Department on charges of attempted murder and possession of a firearm during a violent crime, according to a police department press release.